Spokavore: Day 1

From now until 11:59 p.m. Friday, I’ll be competing in 7vs7: Spokavore. The idea? Well, I’ll have to turn to my pal Bart at Down to Earth NW, who summed up the spirit of this challenge quite nicely: “highlighting local, sustainable, and damn good food options.” Check out the rules if you need to know more.

I’m still well in the contest after a day. I don’t feel like writing everything I ate today, so let me assure you I followed the rules. Dinner was the highlight: a scramble of Rocky Ridge Ranch eggs (Reardan, Wash., available at Rocket Market and Main Market), garlic farmstead cheese from Burgess Dairy in Priest River, Idaho (available at Huckleberries), and vegetables from Main Market and Fresh Abundance.

I didn’t do a Day Zero post, so click past the jump if you want to know more about my preparations.

As noted above, I did my shopping at Main Market, Huckleberries, Rocket Market and Fresh Abundance. I stumbled across some interesting items new to me.

• Italian sausage from Cascade Creek Farm in Sandpoint, Idaho.
• Apple cider from Kootenai Valley Juice Co.
• Sliced bread(!) from Bouzie’s Bakery.
• And Cindy’s Curds and Whey cheese from Burgess Dairy.

As well as some old favorites: Spokane Family Farm milk, Rocky Ridge eggs, Small Planet tofu, Arbor Crest Wine Cellars Cliff House Red and Northern Lights Brewing Co. Crystal Bitter.

Finally, a note about the spirit of the games. I know that not everybody can afford to eat like this, and I don’t advocate an all-local diet at the expense of variety and staying within a budget. But I do like the idea of my food dollars staying in the local economy, and I’m happy to support producers and vendors in my region who practice sustainable agriculture, packaging and commerce. And since the last time I went through one of these local-eating challenges, I’ve been amazed the variety of good food you can get without going too far from home.